Martinez comes to the rescue to spark Yankees

Second stint in N.Y. thrills hot-hitting 1B

By ANGELO BRUSCAS, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Monday, May 16, 2005

Tino Martinez is in a baseball zone in which thinking is the last thing on his mind.

The Yankees first baseman, who broke into the major leagues in a Seattle uniform in 1990, was named American League player of the week for a phenomenal streak in which Martinez hit a home run in five consecutive games last week.

With two more home runs Sunday in a victory at Oakland, Martinez came into Safeco Field last night having hit eight homers in the past eight games, tying him for the league lead with teammate Alex Rodriquez (12).

During last week alone, Martinez hit .391, with 15 RBIs and 10 runs. It all came during an eight-game winning streak, too.

"I just feel good at the plate, and try not to think about it," Martinez said before the game last night. "You get into one of those grooves where you just feel good, you're mechanically good and you're seeing the ball well and making good swings. That's basically as simple as it is. There's nothing magic."

The effect, however, has been a magic potion of sorts for the Yankees, who got off to one of their worst starts in recent history. After hitting .262 with 23 homers and 76 RBIs for Tampa Bay last year, Martinez signed for his second stint with the Yankees. He also played with New York from 1996-2001, winning four World Series rings.

"I loved playing then in New York and I love playing there now," Martinez said. "I also love playing with my teammates there now, guys that we've had success in the past with. And I love playing for (manager) Joe Torre. I'm very comfortable there on this team and I know the system.

"It's all about winning and I like that feeling."

Torre is enjoying his good fortune at having Martinez rejuvenate his career right at the time when Jason Giambi has been struggling. Torre said he plans to pencil in Martinez as the starting first baseman for as long as he continues to be productive.

"The best part of this is Tino himself. Leaving spring training, he sort of had this question mark over his head, wondering if he was going to do enough to help this team," Torre said. "Now, he's not only doing more than that, but the fact that even if he goes into a little bit of a dry spell, he'll know that it's still there.

"That's good news for us because he's such a professional, and the fact that he's been here before helps everybody else around him."